- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
Joe, I think it is possible to stay away from these more obvious choices - as I see it, several of the top men have done just that, if not for their entire career, then at least in recent years: Jeffrey Buttle, Brian Joubert and Johnny Weir seem to make musical choices that suit their own style without trying to trot out Nessun Dorma, Malaguena or Romeo and Juliet in an attempt to put their stamp on it (or Sheherazade, for that matter). Another example IMHO is Carolina Kostner, who stood out so much more this season with the Riders on the Storm SP than she would have with some of her past choices. Also, as far as I know, none of those four skaters has ever done Carmen 
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I do agree with your point that it's very difficult for someone skating to a classic choice of music to truly innovate, because, as you note, often there already is a more or less definitive version by someone else. I wish skaters would take more risks in their choice of music. I understand wanting to have something the audience can get into, but I find it very difficult to get into Carmen, Tosca or Swan Lake for the bazzilionth time. What can a skater possibly bring to those that we haven't see before? It would take a lot of originality and seriously brilliant choreography and interpretation to really make for a memorable performance when you choose something like that. I wonder if part of it is that some skaters, especially in the ladies, are very young and probably not that familiar with classical music and movie scores, so they just go ahead and pick what they already know from figure skating.
. I do agree with your point that it's very difficult for someone skating to a classic choice of music to truly innovate, because, as you note, often there already is a more or less definitive version by someone else. I wish skaters would take more risks in their choice of music. I understand wanting to have something the audience can get into, but I find it very difficult to get into Carmen, Tosca or Swan Lake for the bazzilionth time. What can a skater possibly bring to those that we haven't see before? It would take a lot of originality and seriously brilliant choreography and interpretation to really make for a memorable performance when you choose something like that. I wonder if part of it is that some skaters, especially in the ladies, are very young and probably not that familiar with classical music and movie scores, so they just go ahead and pick what they already know from figure skating.
